FAYETTEVILLE -Andrew Pollack spent most of his Russellville Cyclones football career overshadowed by more well-known players. His junior year, it was Zach Hocker and Andrew Tryon. His senior year, he was the third-most known offensive linemen behind Ole Miss recruit Mitch Hall and Harding recruit Logan Purtle.

Pollack finally got the recognition he's deserved when he was named to the Arkansas High School Coaches Association (AHSCA) All-Star football team, and he spent last week preparing for and playing in the All-Star game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

"It was a great time," Pollack, who said he has no plans to play college football, said Thursday. "Everyone was really nice and really welcoming. During our down time, everybody would just leave their doors open and we could just go in and out of each other's rooms freely and just hang out. Everyone was just real cool. I don't think there was anyone on the team that I didn't like or never talked to. Everyone was just real friendly and had a great time, so that was great."

Pollack split time at center and said he and his teammate were left to fend off two of the West's best players.

"I felt like I did pretty good," Pollack said. "I held my own pretty good, I guess. I was playing against some pretty good athletes. The scouting report on the West side was that their two nose (guards) were the two best athletes on their team. So, me and the other center went in there knowing it would be hard keeping them contained. But we both did a pretty good job and the other guy got outstanding offensive lineman of the game. We both did a pretty good job keeping them contained, because I don't think either one of them got a sack or very many tackles."

The Russellville graduate said there was one thing that really made it a special week.

"Winning," he said with a sigh. "Winning. We worked hard all week, and the West was talking trash all week. We stayed pretty quiet, and it was good."

Pollack and the Cyclones struggled to a 1-9 record in 2010, with the only win coming in week one against Morrilton. Pollack and the offensive line had to block for a young backfield, which led to some disappointing outcomes. But the senior said last week helped to take the sting off the season.

"The game went pretty good," he said. "We beat them pretty good. It was nice to finally get a win under my belt again. It's been a while ago."

While in Fayetteville, Pollack said he enjoyed playing with, and against, some of the best talent in the state. He added he knew there were some critical eyes watching the game.

"I know for a fact that there were a lot of scouts at the game," he said. "Our kicker got offered a scholarship right after the game. He got offered to go to Ouachita Baptist. His name is Steve Sykes, he's from Searcy. He's a really good soccer player. He's a good athlete. On one kickoff, he even ran down there and put a pretty good hit on a guy."

Pollack said he would never have had the chance to play in the All-Star game without the help of his coaching staff at Russellville.

"I want to thank my coaches for the work they put in with me," he said. "I owe a lot to those guys. Coach (Charlie) Goodman kind of took me under his wing since I was a sophomore and worked with me to make me the player I was. I definitely owe him a lot. Coach (Jeff) Holt is a great play-caller. I worked with him quite a bit at halftime of games telling him what I saw. It was a pleasure working with all those guys and owe them all a lot a credit."